Reinforced-cement railroad-tie.



J. H. FLOOD.

REINFORCED CEMENT RAILROAD TIE.

APPLIOATION FILED DEC. 27, 1910.

1,003,590. Patented Sept. 19,1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

H W/ T/VESSES: INVENTOI? ATTORNEY J. H. FLOOD.

Patented Sept. 19, 1911.

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REINFORCED OBMENIRAILROAD TIE. APPLIOLTION FILED DEC. 27, 1910- 1,003,590.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY COLUMBIAPLANOGIAPII 60-. WASHINGTON. n. c.

ITEI) STATES PATENT ()FFIGE.

JOHN H. FLOOD, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR T0 FREDERIC A. BARTLETT, TRUSTEE.

REINFORCED-CEMENT RAILROAD-TIE.

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To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. FLooD, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Bridgeport, county of Fairlield, and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Reinforced- Cement Railroad-Clies; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain improvements in railroad ties, but more par ticularly relates to the construction of a railroad tie from reinforced cement, the object being to construct a tie of metal and cement in an approved manner so that the tie shall be strong and more durable than the ordinary wooden tie, and with these ends in view my invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts hereinafter fully described and then particularly pointed out in the claims which conclude this description.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a broken detail perspective view illustrating the metal reinforcing structure- Fig. 2 a longitudinal vertical sectional elevationFig. 3 a section at the line a, a, of Fig. 2Fig. 4 a section illustrating more particularly a modified manner of securing the rail clamp in positionFig. 5 a horizontal sectionFig. 6 a detail plan view of the top plate on which the rail restsFig. 7 a section at the line 0, c, of Fig. 6Fig. 8 a detail plan view of the bottom plate with which the securing bolts for the rail clamps are engaged, and Fig. 9 a section at the line (Z, (Z, of Fig. 8.

Similar numerals of reference denote like parts in the several figures of the drawing.

Heretofore railroad ties have been made from cement reinforced with various metal structures but my improvement aims particularly to so dispose the metal structure within the cement that it will strengthen the tie in all directions and particularly adapt it to withstand the heavy weights and strains which it must necessarily be subjected to.

l are channel plates of a length nearly equal to that of the completed tie, and having inwardly extending flanges 2 at the top and bottom edges. The sides of these plates are lanced and the stock thrown inwardly so as to Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 27, 1910.

Patented Sept. 19, 1911. Serial No. 599,444.

provide perforations 3 and ledges 4 which latter extend inwardly from said perforations and afford anchorages within the cement in the manner hereinafter described. These channel plates are spaced apart so that in the completed tie they are at a short distance from the sides thereof, and 5 are cross tie bars which extend through perforations 6 in the channel plates and have their extremities 7 bent at an angle so as to prevent the spreading of said plates. Extending in a plane beneath said plates is a reinforcing bar 8 which is nearly as long as the completed tie and whose ends extend upwardly as shown at 9 and are then bent at an angle to form hook-like anchorages 10 in a plane slightly below the upper plane of the channel plates.

11 are links whose extremities are secured respectively to the bar 8 and the cross tie bars 5 at suitable intervals. The bars 5 are about midway of the plates 1, and the links 11 serve to properly connect the bar 8 in position so that the parts heretofore described constitute a metallic reinforcing structure such as I provide for reinforcing the completed tie. This structure is properly suspended within a suitable mold box and embedded in the usual manner within the cement A.

Referring to Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5, it will be noted that the channel plates provide spaced lateral reinforcing supports for the cement, and that the cross bars 5 effectively prevent the spreading of these plates; also, that the bar 8 is very effective in sustaining the body of the cement contained between it and the upper face of the tie said bar being firmly anchored within the cement by means of the upward extensions 9 with the hooks 10, this bar being further sustained and strengthened by means of the connecting links 11. It will also be observed that the cross bars 5 materially aid in sustaining that portion of the cement contained between them and the upper face of the tie, and that any lengthwise or lateral spreading or collapsing of the cement will be resisted not only by the channel plates but by the bars 5 and links 11.

In the completed tie the top flanges 2 of the channel plates generally extend a short distance below the upper surface of the completed tie except at those locations Where the railroad rails are to be supported, and at these locations top plates 12 are primarily, in the reinforcing structure, located on top of the upper flanges 2 so as to extend across the width of the tie, and bolts 13 (shown in dotted lines) extend through said plates and have their extremities hooked as shown at 14: (likewise shown in dotted lines), so as to afford anchorages within the cement. The provision of these top plates is not novel and the lnanner of securing them in position to the channel plates with the proper anchorage within the cement is quite ordinary, and may be varied if desired.

In utilizing my improved tie, the railroad rails rest immediately upon the plates 12, and it becomes necessary to provide some special means whereby these rails may be properlyclamped in position since it is of course impractical to use spikes, and I have provided special clamping means which I will now describe.

It is essential that any bolts secured to the tie and utilized in connection with clamping means for the rail should be read-- ily removable and not permanently fixed to the tie, and I have illustrated in the drawings two ways in which this may be brought about.

Referring to Figs. 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, the cement body from a point a little below the medial line of the tie is cored up to the top so as to provide channels 15 large enough at one end to admit a square headed bolt and contracted at the other end so as to just accommodate the shank of the bolt. A bottom plate 16 is perforated so as to provide openings 17 similar in shape to the channels 15 but the lower face of this plate 16 immediately around the contracted portions of the openings 17 is provided with rectangular countersinks 18 adapted to accommodate the square head of the bolt. The top plates 12 are provided with openings 19 corresponding in shape with the channels 15, and preparatory to the embedding of the parts in cement these plates 16 are held suspended in proper position by a suitable core, and in the completed tie the channels 15 and openings 17 and 19 all coincide, so that in applying the bolts -20 for the rail clamps it is merely necessary to insert the square head of the bolt down through the large openings in the top plate, cement body and bottom plate, and then shift these bolts laterally so as to bring them within the contracted portions of said openings, and finally to raise the bolts so that the square heads will enter the countersinks 18 which prevent the bolts from turning.

21 denotes the rails and 22 are the clamps which loosely surround the upwardly projecting ends of the bolts. 20, the rear portions of these clamps having a bearing directly against the top plates 12, while said bolts pass through the clamps at a point very close to the base edges of the rails. The binding surfaces of the clamps conform to the contour of the bases of the rails, and lock and jam nuts 23 are driven firmly upon the threaded upper extremities of the bolts against the clamps so as to bind the latter firmly against the bases of the rails. It will thus be readily understood that these clamps may be loosened and the bolts removed without any difficulty whatever.

Instead of employing a bottom plate, I can utilize short bolts 24, (see Fig. 41-), having squared portions 25 contiguous to the heads and inserted down through the top plates 12 and the top flanges 2, said plates and flanges being provided for this purpose with openings the same as above described ,with respect to said top plates, and the cement immediately beneath the top flanges 2 should be cored out as shown at 26 so as to permit the heads of the bolts to be passed beneath said flanges. In this construction shown at Fig. 4, after the bolts have been inserted through the large openings in the top plates and flanges they are shifted laterally in the manner hereinbefore described and then drawn upwardly so that the squared portions 25 engage with the contracted portions of the openings in the flanges and thereby prevent the bolts from turning, the openings in the flanges being denoted by the numeral 27, and the clamps and lock and jam nuts are applied in the manner hereinbefore described. I therefore do not wish to be limited in regard to the particular means shown for fixing the bolts to the ties because this can be effected in various ways, two of which I have illustrated and described.

In regard to the clamps it should be noted that their rear bottom surfaces have a firm bearing against the top plates while the pressure which binds the clamps to the rail bases is applied in a vertical plane which is as near as possible to the clamping surfaces, and therefore an exceedingly strong and efficient clamp is thereby afforded.

The perforations in the channel plates allow the cement to flow therethrough while the ledges 1 afford many anchorages, whereby the metal structure as a whole is firmly anchored within the cement so as to afford a most excellent reinforcing element.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The herein described concrete railroad tie, consisting of a reinforcing meta] structure comprising spaced perforated channel plates having inwardly extending ledges, tie bars connecting said plates, an elongated bar extending beneath said plates and terminating in upwardly projecting hooked portions, and links connecting said elongated and tie bars, the whole embedded within a cement body.

2. The herein described concrete railroad tie, consisting of a reinforcing metal structure comprising spaced perforated channel plates occupying a position in the completed tie near the sides and nearly throughout the length thereof and having ledges which extend inwardly from said perforated portions, cross tie bars connecting said plates and preventing the spreading of the same, an elongated bar intermediate of and beneath said plates throughout their length and terminating in upright hooked portions, links connecting said elongated and tie bars, and a cement body Within which said reinforcing parts are embedded.

3. In a concrete railroad tie, the combination of a reinforcing metal structure comprising spaced channel plates occupying a position in the completed tie near to the sides and nearly throughout the length thereof, said plates having their side portions perforated wit-h ledges extending inwardly from said perforations, cross tie bars connecting said plates and preventing the spreading of the same, an elongated bar intermediate of and beneath said plates throughout their length and terminating in upright hooked portions, links connecting said elongated and tie bars, a cement body within which said reinforcing structure is embedded, spaced top plates flush with the upper surface of the cement body and resting upon the upper flanges of said channel plates, securing bolts for said top plates anchored within the cement body, clamp bolts detachably connected with the completed tie, and clamping members around the upwardly projecting extremities of the last named bolts.

4. In a reinforced concrete railroad tie, the combination of a reinforcing metal structure comprising spaced channel plates occupying a position in the completed tie near the sides and nearly throughout the length thereof, said plates having their side portions perforated with ledges extending inwardly from said perforations, cross tie bars connecting said plates and preventing the spreading of the same, an elongated bar extending lengthwise of the tie near the bottom surface thereof and in a vertical plane intermediate of the sides of said channel plates, links connecting said elongated and tie bars at suitable intervals, a cement body within which said reinforced structure is embedded, spaced top plates flush with the upper surface of the cement body and supported by the upper flanges of said channel plates, bolts which secure said top plates to the completed tie, clamp bolts detachably connected to the completed tie, and clamping members connected with the last named bolts and adapted to be used in connection therewith for securing the railroad rails upon said top plates.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN H. FLOOD. Witnesses:

F. W. SMITH, J r., M. T. LONGDEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

